May on The Body Shop

The Body Shop is one of those places I’ve been shopping at for years and years and I know I can trust to deliver.  I’m sure anyone of my generation will remember the green plastic bags and the smell of White Musk and Dewberry in the school gym changing rooms.  The plastic bags may be long gone, as is my love of the fruit and dolphin shaped soaps, but I still love to buy bits on a fairly regular basis and always seem to find something new to try.

In store, I have never had anything but friendly and knowledgeable customer service although I tend to mainly shop online now - the website is easy to use, delivery is speedy (£2.99 for standard delivery although there are often free delivery offers) and there is often a really good discount across everything on the site.

Mack reviews Daily 4 Me from Inner Me

I recall watching an episode of Dragons Den last year and feeling inspired by a lady named Nikki Cooper who was seeking investment to market her beautifully packaged vitamins.  I remember thinking "If those vitamins help me to look as beautiful and radiant as her, I want them!".  Moreover, Nikki's story moved me. Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Nikki emersed herself into researching ways of keeping her condition at bay (which included taking a range of supplements) and subsequently, with the aid of nutritionists and pharmacists, she developed the Inner Me range of vitamins.

I was delighted when earlier this year Inner Me opened its online shop.  Since then, I have been fan of the Daily 4 Me vitamins which provide you with all the goodness you need in a handy, portable daily strip of supplements.  

Each strip has a multivitamin and mineral Tablet, an Omega 3 Capsule, an anti-oxidant capsule and a probiotic capsule.  A box contains a month's supply and costs £30 as at December 2014.

May reviews Elemis Sensitive Cleansing Wash

When I was a teenager, and actually through much of my twenties, I hated my skin. Whilst I was never particularly plagued with bad acne, I had oily skin, always had a spot or two and my skin was just never smooth or glowing. To tackle my woes I got caught up in a what was probably a viscous cycle of those teenage staples such as Clearasil and Biactol. Whilst they certainly felt like they were getting into pores and cleaning out the daily grime, I suspect that they were also completely stripping my skin of all the good and causing it to get angry and react.

Over the years, I tried numerous products, before coming across Elemis' Sensitive Cleansing Wash. I didn't think I particularly had sensitive skin, but I liked the idea of being kinder to it in the hope that it would repay the favour.

This cleanser is now a complete staple in my morning routine and I can't recall having tried anything else since finding it. I have lost count of the number of bottles I have been through.  I love that it doesn't leave my face feeling tight, or taut, as some more astringent cleansers used to.

May makes Nigella's Christmas Rocky Road

I love having home-made treats around, and my husband (and his colleagues) always get excited when I remember this great Christmas Rocky Road recipe which I stumbled across on Nigella’s website a couple of years ago.

It scores very highly on the ‘minimum effort, maximum taste’ front and is a nice twist of on an old favourite for this time of year.

This recipe makes a huge tray of treats, and they are quite rich so I'd recommend cutting it into quite small squares (you can always have a couple!).

I've set out Nigella's recipe in this post, although I usually add a mix of different nuts and swap some of the cherries for cranberries. If you're catering for a vegetarian, remember to leave the marshmallows out of the recipe.

Mack reviews Memebox (part 1)

I am an avid fan of the beauty box. Although part of me is half-considering moving to the US as the choice of available beauty boxes is endless there, I have made it my mission for now to try every beauty box deliverable to the UK at least once.

The next box on my list is Memebox - made by a South Korean based company that sells the best-loved Korean beauty products in pretty, themed boxes. I do love Korean beauty products for their novelty, super cute packaging and most importantly, for how good they are!

Memeboxes contain 4 - 7 full-sized items and deluxe samples, and contents include makeup, skin care, hair and body products. You pay a one-off price for a themed box of products (so many themes to choose from!) and prices average at around £14 ($23) per box excluding shipping as at October 2014. 

May reviews Kenwood Smoothie 2Go

It’s not very often that I get excited about a kitchen gadget.  If I do, it usually turns out to be a short-lived love affair (hello, pineapple corer, ice-cream maker...), but I really, really like my smoothie maker.

For someone who quite likes fruit, and knows it’s good for you, I hadn’t been eating nearly enough of it for ages.  When I want a snack, I just can’t say no to chocolate.

 

As soon as I bought the Kenwood Smoothie2Go I knew I was on to a winner. It is SO easy to throw in some fresh or frozen fruit and some orange juice (I’m sure you can use milk, but I’m not a fan), pop the blade on, shove it on the, er, whizzy bit, and blend away. It only takes a few seconds and once you’re done you can just swap the blade for a lid if you need to run out of the door with it. 

Mack on the "Mack and May blog"

Some time ago, I started a beauty blog but life got in the way and much to my dismay, I didn't take it further than 3 posts! Blogging is like running a business...you need a set plan, drive and commitment, and the time and ability to nuture the blog.

The burning ambition to blog about things I am passionate about (beauty, shopping and lifestyle subjects) has always lingered. When I happened to log in by accident to Blogger and see how many views a post on my old blog had accumulated since I had abandoned it, I was inspired to re-create a blog and work hard to make it something creative, helpful and meaningful to others.

Fortunately, my good friend, May, shares the same vision. May and I have created this blog to give honest reviews about the good and the not so good products we come across, discuss all things beauty, home and lifestyle related and share tips. May and I are similar in some ways, but different in many others and we hope our diverse tastes, opinions and selves give you a more-rounded view of the products we review.

We hope to build a community of friends and followers who share the same interests as us and have fun as we try to live out our blogging dreams (hey, at least it gives us an extra excuse to shop more).

Please have a look at our About Us page and enjoy our blog. We would love to hear your feedback.